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LAWN OUTLINES

The detailed method of lawn making is described elsewhere, but the size and type of the lawn should be considered with the general layout. If the soil where the lawn is to be made is very waterlogged, arrangements should be made for draining it before the rest of the garden and borders are laid out. Otherwise difficulties will arise.

When a lawn is being made for ordinary use and not for games it is found useful to make the edges undulating rather than straight, particularly where there is only room for a small lawn and a surround of flower border. Straight edges are very effective if they are really straight, but they need constant attention in this matter. By curving the edges of the lawn, however, parts of the border are brought forward, and create a more picturesque effect, and at the same time the gardener’s work is considerably lightened, since he does not have to trouble about the accuracy of the line when he is trimming the edges.

Formal Beds in the Lawn If a formal bed of geometrical design is to be made, the outline can be marked by using two sticks with a line of string drawn taut between them. One stick is driven into the soil and the other is used to determine the outline of the beds. All kinds of beds with all manner of curves can be made, the outline being drawn in precisely the same manner as when compasses are used on paper.

The most common difficulty where a novice is making a bed of this kind is in cutting out an oval-shaped bed from a lawn. This can easily be done by the following method. Place two stakes in the ground say eight feet apart. Take a piece of string eighteen feet long and tie the ends together. Put the string over the two stakes and then take a sharpened stick and place it in the loop of the string, pressing it outwards. Move this round the radius allowed by the taut string, marking the surface of the ground. A perfect oval, ten feet by six feet, will be formed.

All formal designs of this kind require constant attention and accuracy, to be kept in good condition, and the amateur is advised to make his garden more informal in design if labour is likely to be short.

In a very small garden, where most of the space is devoted to lawn and flower beds, a dry walk (which is essential where washing has to be dried) can be made by laying stepping stones into the lawn. For this, rectangular flagstones are ideal. An efficient substitute for paving stones of this description can be made with cement, using I part cement to 2 of sand. The best way to make these is to run the cement into a shallow wooden framework, or a shallow box about 3 in. deep. Flat-surfaced stones made in this way are very easy to lay. The distance apart should be such that one steps in easy strides from one stone to the next (ie. about two feet from the centre of one to the centre of the next).